Presentation Title:
Language Separation vs. Language Mixing: Dual Language Education within the Evolving Research Landscape
Presentation Options: Onsite
Presentation Strand: Dual Language/Dual Immersion
Presentation Delivery Language: English
Description:
Dual Language education is not new, but the past decade has brought increased program popularity and growth, as well as a proliferation of new research. Traditional practices – most notably the “strict separation of languages” – are being seen under a new light. Practitioners are embracing “language mixing” to support biliteracy and emergent bilingual identity development. What does this mean for dual language curriculum, instruction, and assessment? How do we square language separation and language mixing in Dual Language classrooms? Join us to explore these questions and identify (and differentiate between) three currently prevalent approaches (Translanguaging, Paired Literacy, Bridge).
Abstract:
This session aims to clarify confusion in the field regarding language use in the Dual Language classroom. The goal is to address the apparent conflict between traditional practices that require “strict separation of languages” and current instructional approaches that embrace “language mixing” as a means for developing bilingualism and biliteracy in a manner more aligned with findings in the brain research. The paradigm shift in the research on bilingualism and biliteracy (from Parallel Monolingualism to Holistic/Dynamic Bilingualism) is admittedly abstract, perhaps making it inaccessible to many practitioners. To make the paradigm shift more visible, the session opens with participants being invited to partner up and observe, compare, and contrast two simple images (Train Tracks, Forest Pathway) and to share their thoughts with the group. Building off the participant observations, the presenter describes the paradigm shift, connecting each concept to its representative image and highlighting implications for biliteracy development by sharing examples of the shift and how it plays out in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Participants engage in Partner Talk, with prompts, to process the information, ask questions, and share insights.
The remainder of the session focuses on sharing a brief overview of the three most common approaches that incorporate “language mixing” into dual language instruction, namely: O. Garcia’s Translanguaging, K. Escamilla’s Paired Literacy, and K. Beeman/C. Urow’s Bridge. After each approach is briefly introduced and explained, participants engage in Partner Talk, with prompts, to process the information, ask questions, and share insights.
Presentation Types: Academic-50m
Target Audience: PreK - 12
Primary Presenter's Telephone: 5126308811
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